Transhumanist Holy Week: Holy Wednesday
IMAGE: PHOTO OF JESUS PAINTING
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While Palm Sunday and Holy Monday renew faith in and hope for the triumph and glory of Christ in this world before the darkness of Holy Tuesday, Holy Wednesday is traditionally a time to ponder on the betrayal and condemnation of Christ in this world. As told in the Gospel of Luke, when Pilate sought to appease the crowd to perhaps spare Jesus (and a possibly bad political situation for him) “They kept shouting, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” (Luke 23:21).
In many Christian churches on Holy Wednesday, the congregation plays the part of the the crowds shouting “Crucify Him!” This ritualistically evokes an introspection on the part of participants to ask themselves how they crucify Christ in their lives. How do we crucify the Christian principles of charity and love? Do we crucify our love and humanity for political or monetary gain? Are Jesus' calls to love our neighbors and enemies seen as a threat to our dogmas or ideologies?
The Mormon Transhumanist Association is an advocacy network for ethical use of technology and religion to expand human abilities. And we affirm that "We feel a duty to use science and technology according to wisdom and inspiration, to identify and prepare for risks and responsibilities associated with future advances, and to persuade others to do likewise." Transhumanism is (or should be) as much about the question of ethical or moral use of technology as it is about technology itself. On this Holy Wednesday, we can ask: How do we use our technologies in a way that crucifies the Christian principles of charity and love? Do we crucify our love and humanity in the ways we use technology for political or monetary gain? Are Jesus' calls to love our neighbors and enemies seen as a threat to our technologies or their use?
If we are to seek to ethically use technology and religion to expand human abilities as we model Jesus' principles of charity we must not join in the voices and forces of this world that would shout, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”